Rafael Ceschin1, Arabhi C. Nagasunder2,3,
Marvin D. Nelson2, Stefan Bluml2,3, Ashok Panigrahy1,2
1Radiology, Children's
Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, United States; 2Radiology,
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States; 3Rudi
Schulte Research Institute, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
Children with a history of prematurity and periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) are susceptible to a spectrum of central visual pathway dysfunction. Our study aimed to determine whether there is preferential injury in tracts involved in central visual pathways in a cohort of children with PVL in whom we have previously demonstrated selective pulvinar microstructural abnormality. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS), deterministic and probabilistic tractography demonstrate that while this cohort demonstrates widespread central white matter abnormalities, there is a preferential posterior extra-thalamic white matter injury involving the splenium and posterior thalamic radiations.